Who can help advise me about preparing for medical school?

Preparing for medical school requires effort and careful planning, but there are many people who can help you.

First, find out if your school has a health professions advisor (sometimes called a premed or prehealth advisor).  If such an advisor is not available at your school, contact your campus career counseling center or minority affairs office, or talk with one of your science professors.

No matter whom you talk to – an advisor, guidance counselor, or professor – ask them to help you:

• Find college courses that will satisfy your premed requirements;
  
  
• Determine an appropriate sequence for completing your courses;
  
  
• Find tutoring help, if needed;
  
  
• Plan your academic schedule to balance premed coursework with your other interests, such as studying abroad or completing a senior honors thesis;
  
  
• Find volunteer or paid clinical and/or research experience;
  
  
• Strengthen your application to medical school;
  
  
• Prepare for interviews and standardized tests;
  
  
• Arrange for letters of evaluation and recommendation;
  
  
• Connect with financial aid officers who can help you prepare to pay for medical school through loans, scholarships, and service obligation programs; and
  
  
• Plan the best career path, based on your individual strengths and weaknesses, values, and life goals.

If you have difficulty finding an advisor at your school, the National Association of Advisors for the Health Professions (see link below) may be able to connect you with volunteer advisors from other schools.

For More Information:

• The National Association of Advisors for the Health Professions (NAAHP)  - Free Resource!
  This Web site includes a listing of all colleges and universities where its members are located and information on volunteer advisors.